Charter Schools in the News

Photo by Anna Bonick

Court: Virtual charter school can receive public funds Chi-Town Daily News
The Chicago Teachers Union challenged the Chicago Virtual Charter School's legality and tried to block its public funding. A judge ruled the school's public ...

Charter schools are on the ball Illinois Times
Even though politicians and education reformers have been singing the praises of charter schools for a number of years now, the concept has been slow to catch on outside of America’s big inner cities. This is especially true in Illinois, where only nine of the state’s 39 charter schools are located outside of the city of Chicago.

Use Stimulus Funds to Expand Charter Schools Huffington Post - New York
By UNO’s Juan Rangel. Through this funding strategy, Illinois is creating a new public/private partnership model for public school construction. This model will focus on school ...

Legislation would loosen cap on new charter schools Chi-Town Daily News
Jesse Ruiz, who chairs the State Board of Education, disagrees. He says programs such as the Illinois Network's Charter Up! help educators at traditional public schools learn how to implement successful programs from charter schools. They are an answer to concerns from policymakers who think charters are too insulated, he says.

Area charter schools see honors for their programming Medill Reports
Charter school supporters, students and leaders gathered at the Garfield Park Conservatory on Tuesday to celebrate innovative programming at five Chicago charters. Jesse Ruiz congratulated the audience on the bill's passage and stressed the importance of having charter schools in Illinois to provide alternatives in education ...

District paves way for new academy Peoria Journal Star
Highlights school board vote for requesting applications for a Math, Science, Tech Charter School. Great quote from David Gorenz, School Board President.

Illinois lifts cap on charter schools Rockford Register Star
That means 15 charter schools can be licensed in downstate Illinois, which includes Rockford. In Chicago, 40 new schools can be added, and in the state five allocated for drop-out recovery.

Bill allows 120 state charter schools Chicago Sun-Times
The number of charter schools allowed in Illinois would double to 120 under a bill that passed both chambers amid a swirl of legislative activity late Monday. The bill's passage comes after U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan warned that Illinois...

Lawmakers pave the way to double the number of charters Catalyst
A bill that doubles the statewide charter cap from 60 to 120. Senate Bill 612, now awaiting Governor Quinn's signature, would allow up to 45 additional charters in Chicago, including up to five new charters aimed at dropout recovery.

Study: performance of charter schools in suburban and downstate communities

The Illinois Policy Institute has recently released a new report, Unsung Heroes: Charter Schools, which examines the performance of charter schools in suburban and downstate communities.

Interest in charter schools outside of Chicago has rapidly increased in the last year, with 3 charter school proposals approved in Rockford and 2 more in the works, in addition to proposals submitted in the South Suburbs, Joliet, Peoria and Waukegan. IL law caps the total number of charter schools outside of Chicago at 15 in the suburbs and 15 downstate.

Here are the report's highlights, courtesy of the IPI blog:

The Data
The new Illinois Policy Institute report focuses on charter schools that enrolled K-12 students during the 2007-2008 school year. These downstate and suburban charter schools outperformed the district averages in 72.1 percent of direct comparisons of academic performance.

• In every instance, charter schools posted higher attendance rates and lower truancy rates than district schools.
• In 4 of 7 comparisons, charter schools had a higher percentage of all students meeting/exceeding state standards on state tests. (In one instance, the overall performance of district schools and a charter school was identical).
• In 4 of 6 comparisons, charter schools made stronger one-year gains on state tests.

A closer grade-by-grade, subject-by-subject analysis of performance showed charter schools were making strong headway. Overall, the grade-level test results at charter schools exceeded the district averages 72.0 percent of the time.

In a wide majority of comparisons, downstate and suburban charter schools outperformed the average at district schools in each subject tested: reading, math, science and writing. And in two schools where the grade-level performance of economically disadvantaged students could be compared directly to district averages, charter students outperformed the district averages in 67.7 percent, or 21 of 31, direct comparisons.

The demand for charter schools is real and the need is urgent. More than 13,000 students on wait list in communities throughout Illinois want the charter public school option. In fact, according to a recent poll of Illinois parents, demand for charter public schools is strong and growing. The poll showed that approximately 80 percent of parents are both interested in and favor charter public schools.

Legislators are taking notice of this large constituency of parents, teachers, students and leaders who will no longer wait silently on the sidelines. The charter school community is empowered, vocal and will not rest until every child in every community has the chance to choose a quality education.